Kiya Evans joins Paper Literary as associate agent
thebookseller.com – Monday March 10, 2025
Kiya Evans has joined Paper Literary as an associate agent after five years at Mushens Entertainment, where she started as an intern in 2020 before becoming Juliet Mushens’ assistant in 2021 and being promoted to associate agent in 2023.
Evans has worked on books with authors including Richard Osman, Jessie Burton, Abigail Dean and Saara El-Arifi. She has also begun building her own list of clients, including Annie Summerlee, whose debut romantasy The Book of Blood and Roses sold in major pre-empts in both the UK and US, as well as in multiple international territories, and will be published in January 2026.
Evans will be supporting agents Catherine Cho and Katie Greenstreet on the Paper Literary list and continue to build her own roster of clients. Her first day at Paper Literary will be 24th March.
Graham Maw Christie appoints Amandeep Singh as associate agent as Amy O’Shea steps into agenting
thebookseller.com – Thursday March 6, 2025
Graham Maw Christie Literary Agency has appointed Amandeep Singh as associate agent, while Amy O’Shea has stepped up into agenting.
Singh began her career as an editor at Penguin General, going on to work at HarperCollins, Ebury and the Blair Partnership, before moving into a role as agent at The Good Literary Agency. In 2024 she was a judge for the Little Brown New Voices Award.
Singh is bringing authors including Dr Rupert Whitaker, Dr Paulina Rowińska and Bethany Handley with her to Graham Maw Christie. In her new role, she will be “looking for writers who have a unique story to tell, in fiction or non-fiction”.
Jane Graham Maw said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Amandeep Singh to Graham Maw Christie. She is a deep thinker with an astute eye for talent and a passion for seeking new voices and perspectives.”
‘Sign our own death warrant’: Australian writers angry after Melbourne publisher asks them to sign AI agreements
theguardian.com – Tuesday March 4, 2025
Australian writers, literary agents, and the industry’s peak body have expressed their concerned after Black Inc Books asked its authors to consent to their work being used to train artificial intelligence.
The Melbourne publisher, which produces The Quarterly Essay as well as fiction and nonfiction by prominent Australian writers, gave them until today to enter into third-party agreements with an unnamed AI company.
The writers were asked to grant Black Inc “the right to reproduce or use, adapt and exploit the work in connection with the development of any software program, including, without limitation, training, testing, validation and the deployment of a machine learning or generative artificial intelligence system”.
The deal sees the publisher split the net receipts with the author 50/50.
Jane Gregory Bursaries applications open for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2025
thebookseller.com – Tuesday March 4, 2025
Applications are now open for the Jane Gregory Bursaries, which offer three underrepresented writers a unique opportunity to attend the Creative Thursday writing day at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2025.
Creative Thursday is pitched by organiser Harrogate International Festivals as “an immersive and inspiring day of workshops and talks led by industry experts and bestselling crime writers” including Vaseem Khan, Mick Herron, Will Dean and Laura Shepherd-Robinson. It takes place on 17th July, the opening day of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
The Jane Gregory Bursaries were created to support the next generation of crime writers, offering recipients the opportunity to access the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. One of the bursaries incorporates a Weekend Break Package with accommodation and tickets to all Festival main stage events, while the Festival’s Creative Thursday Workshops are offered in all three bursaries, along with travel contributions.
The three bursaries offer opportunities to attend the annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and are open to aspiring writers from under-represented groups including, but not limited to, individuals who are Black, Asian or part of a Minority Ethnic group, those with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community or those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Former publishing staffers launch new publishing services company BeRead
thebookseller.com – Monday March 3, 2025
The former marketing director at Headline Fergus Edmondson and former head of brand for James Patterson at PRH Merle Bennett have launched a new publishing services company called BeRead.
Launched in February 2025, the “complete publishing partner” aims to work across the UK and US to “support writers and publishers at every stage, from manuscript to market”, focusing on publishing strategy and promotion, author brand development and campaign execution and marketing.
It will, the founders say, offer access to “best-in-class” editors, designers, proofreaders, typesetters and more.
Fergus Edmondson has more than 15 years experience in-house at Headline, Penguin Random House UK, Pan Macmillan and, more recently, as a freelance marketing director, working on books by authors including Maggie O’Farrell, Michael Palin and Robert Harris.
Top Authors Announced to Appear at the Ealing Book Festival
ealingtoday.co.uk – Wednesday February 26, 2025
This year’s Ealing Book Festival is set to feature a line-up of internationally acclaimed authors and tickets are now on sale for the event.
The programme includes talks from Hanif Kureishi, Elif Shafak, Andrew O’Hagan, Tracy Chevalier, Roger McGough, Natasha Brown, Abi Daré and Laura Cumming, alongside a wide range of other events including walking tours, workshops and a children’s poetry competition
The second ever festival runs from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 April 2025 and is being run in partnership with Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery which will host many of the events along with the University of West London.
Hanif Kureishi, best known as the author of The Buddha of Suburbia and My Beautiful Laundrette, will talk about his new memoir Shattered which charts the devastation and rebuilding of his life after a fall in 2022 left him without the use of his limbs.
Aberdeen crime writing festival proves again why it’s the perfect match
creativescotland.com – Tuesday February 25, 2025
Aberdeen’s international crime writing festival came to a rapturous close on Sunday 23 February as the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers brought down the curtain on Granite Noir 2025. The ninth edition saw over 80 authors, artists and speakers participate over the four day festival, including nine emerging North East writers as part of Granite Noir’s leading Locals in the Limelight series. Audiences travelled from across the country and tuned in around the world to enjoy events that dove into the thrilling world of crime fiction.
Criminal duos were in focus this year, with a live version of the hit BBC podcast Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling performed to a packed out Music Hall on Thursday night. And husband and wife writing teams Nicci French and Ambrose Parry discussed their process and real-life Partners in Crime.
Ben Torrie, Director of Programming and Creative Projects at Aberdeen Performing Arts remarked on this year’s event: “This year’s Granite Noir invited everyone to become our partners in crime, and we’re delighted that so many joined us as accomplices this past weekend. Reading and writing could be considered solitary occupations, but the acknowledgments at the end of any book prove it is anything but a solo endeavour. So too it is the case with this festival. Granite Noir would not be possible without the efforts of the team, our key funders and festival partners and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of them for their continued support. Most of all though, Granite Noir couldn’t happen without the support of our audiences and of the city of Aberdeen. As we look forward to our tenth edition next year, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who has embraced Granite Noir into the fabric of the city and established its place as one of Scotland’s leading literary events.”
Erin Murphy Literary Agents Join Aevitas
publishersweekly.com – Monday February 24, 2025
The agents of Windham, Maine–based children’s book agency Erin Murphy Literary Agency—including founder Erin Murphy and agents Tricia Lawrence, Kevin Lewis, Ammi-Joan Paquette, and Miranda Paul—have joined Aevitas Creative Management. The EMLA backlist will remain under the EMLA umbrella and Murphy's supervision, with business affairs personnel Susan Murrell and Dennis Stephens continuing to process payments and statements on titles sold before January 31, 2025. Murphy joins Aevitas as a partner, Lawrence and Paquette as senior agents, and Lewis and Paul as agents.
“When I began working on a succession plan last year, I spoke with many wonderful agencies whose people were generous with their time and information. I feel so fortunate to have found Aevitas, which ticks all the boxes for me,” said Murphy in a statement. “In addition to being able to immediately provide more support for five agents and more robust systems than we had at EMLA, ACM is full of warm people with esteemed lists, and adding EMLA’s authors and illustrators will increase the presence of ACM Kids & Illustration to the benefit of all. Joining ACM has been a joy, and I’m glad to be shifting roles to focus squarely on representing my clients again, while phasing out my role as agency head.”
2025 San Francisco Writers Conference Review
splashmags.com – Saturday February 22, 2025
The 21st Annual San Francisco Writers Conference (SFWC) was held at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on the Embarcadero Waterfront, February 6 – 9, 2025. What started as a two-day conference in 2004, under the direction of Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, has expanded to four days with additional pre/post master classes, an exhibition hall, a free Teen Writers Summit and a Student Forum for university and college students.
The SFWC has become one of the premier writing events in the country. The 2025 conference theme was Learn, Connect, Publish. Whether you are interested in traditional publishing, self-publishing, or a hybrid publishing scenario, the theme reflects the founders’ vision of helping writers get their work published by increasing their skills and connecting them with publishers, editors, agents and other professionals.
Are you a writer? Do you wish you had a connection, to someone special in the writing or publishing world? SFWC presents a great opportunity for networking: meeting, listening, and talking with people who may become a connection for you in your writing journey.
Authors are often called upon to talk about themselves, or speak in an open forum. If you are not comfortable in the spotlight then SFWC can help. You’ll be motivated to push yourself, and get the most benefit from the conference.
I approached my time at the conference not only as a Splash journalist, but as a pre-published novelist wanting to learn how to submit my manuscript about The Life and Art of Julian Ritter, to a traditional publishing house. Here are my impressions and what I learned – hopefully this will help you.
Agents, editors, and authors all need the industry to succeed. Writers often love being holed up alone, spilling their thoughts onto paper. Just as often, they agonize over their words, ability, or direction. This conference is full of people who “get it.” You’ll have support to shed that thin skin, put your work and yourself out there, and take the lumps. Because those lumps will make you better, will present new possibilities, and perhaps, take you to the next level.
CPI and The Agency suffer cyber attacks as publisher profits 'hit significantly'
thebookseller.com – Wednesday February 19, 2025
The UK’s leading book printer, CPI, and The Agency have both been hit by ransomware attacks, The Bookseller understands.
Clients of CPI, including Welsh independent Firefly Press, have been majorly affected with some profits “wiped out”. The cyber attack on The Agency – a London-based literary agency – has been attributed to the Rhysida ransomware group, which previously targeted the British Library, and has allegedly threatened to publish stolen data if not paid a ransom. It is unknown whether the same ransomware group is responsible for the CPI attack.
A spokesperson for CPI told The Bookseller: “In the early hours of Friday, 7th February 2025, our IT systems were disabled, affecting the UK part of our business. After completing initial forensic analysis we were able to determine that we had encountered a cyber attack, despite having significant protection already in place across our entire network.
“As soon as the attack was identified, we engaged specialist external technical support, who along with our own teams have been working to recover our systems as quickly as possible. Our colleagues across the whole business have been working extraordinarily hard to develop workarounds as well as to reimplement our IT systems and have made substantial progress. We continue dialogue with our customers and other stakeholders to ensure that they are fully aware of the status. We expect to resume full services gradually over the coming days.”
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